Crime and crime-reporting varies across southeast Michigan

By ALAN BURDZIAK

Sunday, July 28, 2013

The way local law enforcement agencies report crime statistics to Michigan State Police differs across Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties, sometimes resulting in the information not being readily accessible to the public.

Most agencies report their stats to MSP, which composes an annual report on crime in Michigan, and then the state sends the information to the FBI for its yearly Crime in the United States publication.

In communities in Oakland and Macomb counties, where the respective sheriff's offices patrol, the data is not entered by community, making it difficult for the public to differentiate which crimes happen in which community. Most stats in the state are submitted and logged by agency.

Wyandotte Police Chief Dan Grant said it's an important resource for police and residents alike.

"I think the community wants to know what their crime rates are," he said." ... It gives you a chance to compare with other communities of similar size and geographic area."

Most communities are represented in each report, but there are many that aren't. One obvious exclusion in both the state and federal crime report for 2011 is Pontiac, an economically depressed city that has been known as a harbinger of crime for years.

Pontiac reports to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, which in turn reports as an agency.

Crime statistics can be misleading, however, since they only encompass crimes that are reported.

Two of the best indicators of local crime are people's perception of safety and response time, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said in a recent interview.

"I think they are getting better," says Bouchard. "You can tell from residents, you can tell from businesses. They know."

When the sheriff took over policing Pontiac in 2011, additional deputies were put on the street, and every call was answered, he says.

"When you go from 50 officers who literally can't respond to every call....that's an unreported crime. Now, we respond to everything," Bouchard said. "Initially, we were probably seeing higher numbers than when we got there because, again, 100 percent response. We had some people saying, 'You actually came.' When you go to all the calls, the numbers initially go up. Now we think we're pushing down the real crime numbers."

Pontiac is not the only community omitted from the uniform crime reports.

Total data for cities like Highland Park, Ecorse, River Rouge and Flat Rock in Wayne County and numerous small communities in Macomb and Oakland counties are not reflected in either report for 2011. Michigan's annual report isn't expected to be released until August or September. The FBI's report comes out around the same time.

The FBI cautions against comparing different areas and their crime rates without taking into account social, geographic and economic factors. But, with data not readily available for some communities, year-by-year comparisons are difficult to use as a barometer.

Police use the stats for tactical reasons: To identify hot spots and trends and target resources to combat those accordingly. Specific methods change from department to department, but many focus on using some program to map crime. Two examples of this are Data Driven Approaches to Traffic and Crime Safety and CompStat. DDACTS is used in several smaller communities in the area. Wayne State Police in Detroit and major city police across the country use the CompStat system.

For the public, it is used as a resource to determine -- at their own discretion -- how safe their community is, or what crimes are most likely to happen in their area. The lack of data in some areas not only detracts from perception, but also limits transparency. Using the data on the amount of crimes reported, as well as clearance rates available via MSP, politicians, business leaders and the public can make a determination on the efficacy of law enforcement.

Wendy Easterbrook compiles crime data for MSP and also compiles the annual report on crime in the state. The state's system is called MICR: Michigan Incident Crime Reporting. She said sometimes departments have issues reporting their numbers, and residents and officials will sometimes contact her for the data. If she doesn't have the information, she said she refers people to their local agency.

Residents are unlikely to go to a department to get information on crime, said one commenter on The News-Herald Newspaper's Facebook page, but several did say the information is important.

"Being informed on what's going on in your neighborhood is important!" said Michele Manthei-Brown of Wyandotte. "Knowing if there are break-ins can help neighbors to keep an eye out for suspicious activity."

Another woman agreed with Manthei-Brown and offered a similar perspective. Kristy Samuels Strasser said it's "important to watch for trends and to keep our eyes open when they are happening."

River Rouge, a 3.4 square-mile inner ring suburb of Detroit with a population of about 7,800 reported only three months of stats in 2011. Police Chief Jeffrey Harris said recently he doesn't have the resources to do a full report. In most departments, a records clerk will compile the data and submit it to the state. Ecorse, its neighbor to the south and similar in size, reported seven months of 2011 stats.

In Highland Park, no stats were reported to the state from about 2007 to 2011. Police officer Kamin Bode said she recently completed sending in the numbers for 2012 and is working on 2013 data. Bode said data on 2008 and 2009 is lost and for her to go back to do 2010, 2011 or other years at this point is unnecessary. The problem in Highland Park, as well, is manpower, and money. River Rouge is in a consent agreement with the state; Highland Park doesn't have the money to buy a computer system for its Police Department and the city has a recent history of budget problems.

"There just wasn't enough of us to have someone" to do the time-consuming process of submitting the data, Bode said. " ... Since we've been back operating, there has not been MICRs put in."

The Highland Park Police Department was disbanded in 2001, and from then until 2007, Wayne County Sheriff deputies patrolled the streets there. The department reopened when the deputies left.

For Grant, even though it does give the records department more work, it's definitely worth it.

"Any additional duty is a burden but I think what you get out of it is helpful," he said. "It gives you a real good ability to see what's up or what's down."

With local governments continually feeling the pinch as revenues have declined drastically over the last decade due to falling property values and state-shared revenue, police department staffing has been a hot issue. Many departments have laid off police, or have not replaced those who have left, resulting in some areas not having the police presence that they are either accustomed to or desire.Crime stats can be used to determine if staffing levels are adequate.

"If crime is high, we can justify adding personnel," Grant said.

Public Act 319 of 1968 mandates that all local law enforcement agencies submit crime reports to the state. Throughout the years, Easterbrook said, the system has been refined. Beginning in 2012, police are required to provide the state with addresses of reported crimes and the amendments to PA 319 have included specific incidents like domestic violence and auto thefts. There is no set penalty for not reporting stats to the state, but if the data does not go to the state, it does not go to the FBI, which can make if more difficult to secure more funding for agencies.

"They say it's all voluntary, but if you don't do it, you'll lose out on federal grant money," Easterbrook said.

Most departments use one of a handful of different kinds of software for incident reporting: Courts and Law Enforcement Management Information System and products from New World Systems and OSIS are a few examples. A reporting officer, usually one on patrol, writes the report and inputs data into the applicable area. There are more than 60 possible incident codes for police. The officer writes the narrative and inputs the information and it is then reviewed by a supervisor, normally a sergeant. Supervisors ensure the crime is identified correctly and that the narrative makes sense.

Beyond that, MSP has guidelines to ensure data credibility.

"We work throughout the year, tirelessly, sending each law enforcement agency warning reports every quarter to verify certain data points they have submitted based on what the FBI" wants for its Uniform Crime Report, Easterbrook said.

State Police offers training for records clerks and also can audit an agency's reports if necessary, as can the FBI. On occasion, a MICR specialist will call an agency if there is any confusion in a report's narrative. At the end of the day, however, it comes down to the reporting officer and their ability to accurately file their reports.

"We take every approach that we can to make sure the data is accurate but there is no way to prove that it is" aside from an audit, Easterbrook said.